Mothergamer Plays Bear's Restaurant

 *Note I received a game code for the Nintendo Switch for my honest review. Thank you to Odencat for the game code. 

Bear's Restaurant starts off right with a trigger warning explaining that there are themes and situations that may be sad and upsetting. I appreciated that a lot because while Bear's Restaurant looks like a very cute game it is more than that. It is a game about death, dying, and memories we have of those we have lost. The game is very much story driven and is about the experience. You play as a cat that works in a restaurant with a bear. This isn't just any restaurant though. Bear is the chef for the dead and creates their last meal which happens to be their favorite meal when they were alive. 

Bear creates a last meal for the dead.

Cat assists Bear in the restaurant and Bear shows Cat around the area which is a train station where the dead wait for the train to Heaven. Here, Cat can talk to some of the people there and ask them probing questions that give some insight into their lives. When Cat is done talking with them, she receives a memory shard from the person.

Cat and Bear at the train station. 

Before Cat goes to sleep she can watch the memory shard of the person and it gives some insight into who they were and how they died. That second part is very sad, but each story is very well done. This also shows Cat what their favorite dish was as she sees their memories. She can then give this memory shard to Bear who makes the meal in no time and as the dead enjoy their favorite meal, they fade away peacefully from the restaurant chair they were sitting in. 

Cat sees a memory. 

There are light puzzle elements to Bear's Restaurant, but the main focus is absolutely the story and the journey Cat and Bear are on. There are questions that come up such as who is Bear and who is Cat? How did Bear and Cat come to be at this afterlife restaurant? These questions do get answered as the story progresses and it is beautifully told showing the regrets that people can have and how they can come to terms with life not always being what they expected. 

A beautiful area in the game. 

The pixel art style in the game is lovely and works with the storybook elements of the game. Although the story is sad it is also heartwarming as it shows that the power of love is an incredible thing and that the people we love live on in our hearts and memories. Bear's Restaurant isn't very long; I finished it in three hours, but in that short time it tells a good story. 

Cat among the stars. 

*Bear's Restaurant is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, Xbox One, PC, and Mobile

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Plays Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising

 I am a huge Suikoden fan. I love the Suikoden series, especially Suikoden II which is so good that I have played it more times than I can count. When I heard about Eiyuden Chronicle: Hundred Heroes, I was curious and excited especially when I heard that the creator of the Suikoden series himself Yoshitaka Murayama was collaborating with the developers on this. Then I saw their spin off prequel Eiyuden Chronicle: Rising and saw exactly what they meant about the series being a spiritual successor to Suikoden. There was no denying that familiar Suikoden art style that I have always loved, so I picked up Rising and started playing. 

There are some differences with Rising and that makes sense because it's a new series with a new story and world building. For one thing it's a 2D action side scroller format instead of turn based battles. There's a brief tutorial that explains the combat as you get into your first fight and it was easy to follow and fun. 

Learning the combat. 

Rising introduces us to the main character CJ who arrives in the town of New Nevaeh determined to be the best treasure hunter she can be and have a grand adventure. The town is recovering from an earthquake that happened several months ago and this introduces the fetch quests and the stamp card. CJ can bring the townspeople things they need such as building materials, ingredients, or items from monsters. All of these help to rebuild the town and CJ does get money, items, and a stamp for the stamp cards. It's a smart way of level grinding in a way and some of the fetch quests do have a mini story with them, some amusing and others heartwarming. I was never bored doing any of them and had a good time hacking and slashing my way through various areas.

I wanted all the stamps!

The entire point of the town is to be the home base for CJ and companions she meets who become party members as the story continues. Each party member has their own set of skills and there is a fun dynamic where they can do link attacks which can absolutely destroy enemies if you time them right. You can also swap between characters during battle using their unique skills according to what the flow of battle demands. I used CJ the most, but I absolutely loved Garoo because he had some pretty powerful attacks. I was also amused by how often he and CJ would argue back and forth and Garoo would give in and just do what CJ demanded. It showed a great friendship and a lot of humorous moments. 

Garoo was very cool. 

As the story continues you unlock more areas and the town gradually gets rebuilt and you get to see how it changes. The shops are set in their own areas like the smithy and armor shop on one street and the magic and items shop on another. There are definitely some great nods to Suikoden besides the art style, like having to sharpen your weapons so they're more powerful or the use of runes. The runes had a bit of a new twist to them with the fact that you can put the runes in rune lenses and different runes give different effects. I thought that was really cool and tried out different runes to see what worked for my play style. 

There are runes in this series too!

I was never frustrated with the game play of Rising at all. I did appreciate that I could set the game to the easy setting so I could just enjoy the story and have a good time with it. Exploring areas to fight monsters, getting materials for upgrading things, and finding all kinds of treasure was a blast. The link attacks add that extra punch of style that made me want to keep playing because I was having so much fun. 

Having fun fighting a rock monster.

There are some fantastic creative boss fights as well. They do get a bit harder as you go, but nothing that was so difficult it would frustrate me. These blended well into the story and I wanted to know what would happen next. The story itself is interesting and gives you a good introduction to the world of Eiyuden Chronicle and some of the characters that will be in Hundred Heroes. I personally liked the combat style and enjoyed the fetch quests because the game rewards you with some really nice upgrades and rare items that definitely help improve weapons, armor, and skills. 

Oh, hello monster tree.

The game itself overall isn't very long, about twelve hours to finish. I loved every bit of it and it made me really hyped for Hundred Heroes. Rising did a great job with introducing us to this new series and the characters that will be a part of it. There are so many beautiful nods to the Suikoden series and it really feels like a precious gift to the many Suikoden fans. I can't wait to hang out with CJ and her friends again in Hundred Heroes as well as seeing what the next adventure brings. 

Taking a break from adventuring.

* Eiyuden Chronicle Rising is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4, Playstation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S

* Come join our community on Twitch where we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Gibbon: Beyond The Trees, A Beautiful Game With An Important Message

 *Note: I received a free game code for the Nintendo Switch for the game for my honest review. Thank you to Future Friends Games for the code.

Gibbon: Beyond The Trees hooked me in right away with the beautiful artwork that looks like a watercolor painting come to life. I also loved the sounds of the jungle and the singing of the gibbons. The sounds blend together perfectly. There were so many lovely details right at the start right down to the tutorial showing how to move your gibbon so you can swing through the trees, run, and slide as you play through the side scrolling of the game. 

Learning how to move.

The game plays like a storybook which I love introducing the little family of gibbons traveling through the jungle. I loved the artwork in this game because it's very well done giving a sense of being immersed in their world as you swing through the trees. It took me a bit to get used to moving at such a fast pace and I failed a lot of jumps, but I didn't mind so much because I was enjoying the game.

The gibbon family travels together. 

The music for the game is excellent as it changes according to the setting and tone of the story mixing well with the gibbon songs and jungle sounds. The landscape changes as you move showing how vast the jungle is and each area is quite pretty with the artwork. I found myself in awe of how much detail was in each area because it added to the wonderful elements of the game.

Another beautiful area in the game. 

The big thing about Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is it's not just a beautiful game. It comes with an important message about the exploitation of gibbons, climate change, deforestation, and how it is vital that we do everything in our power to work towards protecting our planet. The game does this in a powerful, thought provoking way with the gradual changing of the landscape showing more metal, fire, and scorched earth. The sounds change also with more clanging and city sounds showing how each thing affects the ecosystem. 

Deforestation upsets the balance. 

There are less trees to swing from as the landscape changes to towns and cities. It's all part of the story and because the game does such a good job of simply showing through art how each thing affects everything I was emotionally invested in the story and understood the message they were sharing with everyone. 

Swinging through a town. 

Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is not very long, but honestly it doesn't need to be because it gets the message across very clearly. The storybook elements and gameplay work together perfectly to show that we have the power to change things if we work together. This is absolutely a game that is wonderful and should be played by everyone because it shows quite well how art can be powerful and get us to think about the things that matter. That in itself is an amazing thing. 

A beautiful and powerful game. 

The team that developed and worked on the game also showed at the end ways to spread awareness and how we can help. They also have it on their website which you can check out here: https://www.gibbongame.com/gibbons.html Together, we can evoke change. 

*Gibbon: Beyond The Trees is available on the following platforms: Steam, Nintendo Switch

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Stray: A Purr-fectly Great Game

 When I saw Stray, I knew I was going to get the game. Getting to play as an adorable cat in a futuristic dystopian cyberpunk city setting and exploring was totally my vibe. The settings for the game are easy to work with. I was able to turn subtitles on and adjust the camera settings as well as the audio. Once that was set up, I was ready to dive in. Stray starts by showing a group of four adorable cats outside in what looks like an abandoned building with leaves and leafy vines everywhere. I was immediately drawn in by how beautiful this setting was. 

A beautiful view with cute cats. 

This also introduces you to the game controls with the star of the story; a cute ginger tabby. The game shows you how to move around, how to push things with your paws, and how to meow. Yes, there is a meow button and I laughed with delight at the cute meows from the cat. I ran around for a few minutes just yelling, "I'm a kitty!" because that's the level of joy the game brings right away just letting you be a cat. 

Ginger kitty with a cute black kitty. 

After the initial introduction, the family of cats leaves their home and go exploring. This shows you how to jump and move along ledges as well as drinking water from puddles. As the ginger cat travels with their family, a mistimed jump causes the cat to fall and get separated from its family. I gasped when it happened because it's a shock and I felt sad for the cat. I was also relieved when I saw the cat was okay and then started exploring where the cat fell and this is where Stray's adventure really begins. I was fascinated by noticing that there were buildings that looked abandoned and then as I kept exploring I saw that it looked like a dead city. Here were shops and apartment buildings, but where were all the people? I then saw a surveillance camera and meowed at it. I was stunned when the camera moved in a nodding motion if to say yes. As I moved across rooftops and alleyways, I kept finding more surveillance cameras and meowing at them and each time the camera nodded. String lights lit up indicating a direction the cat should go in. I was intrigued by this mystery of who was controlling the cameras. 

Little cat in the big city. 

That question was soon answered upon meeting a little drone robot, B-12 who acts as a translator for the cat and also reads signs and notes to give the players ideas about the surroundings as well as clues about what happened to the city. B-12 floats along while the cat wears a little saddle pack that carries B-12 when they're not active. I found the city wasn't totally abandoned as we met humanoid robots known as Companions. Each one was different and seemed to model themselves after a variety of humans ranging from guardians to musicians to cute little grannies. 

I didn't even know eating anyone was an option. 

I really liked the first area because I could just explore and talk to the various Companions and do a few fetch quests here and there like finding sheet music for a musician Companion. I liked the freedom that Stray gives you with exploring because it let me take my time with the game and just enjoy doing cat things like knocking things off shelves or curling up in a cinnamon roll position and nap. I also made friends with many of the Companions who really seemed to like their new feline friend. I of course did some of the story things along the way because the goal was to get back to the surface and Stray very smartly makes that objective easy to follow while making that freedom of exploration accessible. 

Just taking a cat nap and listening to the music.

That's not to say things don't get intense once in a while. As the journey continues we find very scary robots that look a bit like giant ticks called Zurks. The music would get a little spooky and I knew I would have to run from the Zurks or be eaten. I failed that a few times and poor ginger kitty met an untimely demise. The story does explain the Zurks as you go, but finding them in an area always made me wary on how I moved and figuring out ways to outrun them or avoid them. Luckily, they aren't everywhere so a few terrifying Zurk moments here and there, but then back to exploring and being a cat having their best adventure. 

Ugh, Zurks. They're the worst. 

As I kept exploring and moving the story along, I was impressed by how unique each area was. The attention to detail with the style and art is incredible. I also loved that each place had really thought about places cats could climb, lounge, and jump. The movement of the cat was fantastic and I could tell they had really studied how cats move and behave with every jump, meow, and sprint. There were moments where I had fun being a little ball of chaos like jumping up on a table and knocking things off or scratching up a couch. I also enjoyed simply stopping and gazing at the scenery. There are so many great things to look at in Stray.

I love this area. It's so cool! 

The story for Stray itself is interesting and I found myself invested in wanting to know what would happen next and figuring out where to go. When I finished Stray, there was this feeling of wow, what a great game. It hit all the right notes for storytelling, but also a beautifully endearing joy of getting to simply be a cat. I loved those moments of the game best, where I could take a nap with a Companion friend or interrupt a Mahjong game by jumping on the table. I loved that the game gave me so many opportunities to just be a cat. I loved everything about Stray because of these elements and I'm so glad I played it. Once you're finished, you can go back through each chapter and pick up any achievements you missed which is really nice because there was a nap achievement I wanted and got for my little cat friend. The game itself isn't very long. If you're playing for only the story, it's about five to six hours. If you want all the achievements it's about seven to eleven hours. For $30 that's not bad. For me, Stray was a purr-fectly great game and I loved being a cat. 

Sometimes you just need to curl up and nap with a friend. 

*Stray is available on the following platforms: Steam, Playstation 4, and Playstation 5

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

As Far As The Eye: Charming, But A Struggle To Play

 *Note I was given a game code for the Nintendon Switch by Goblinz Studio for my honest review of the game. 

As far As The Eye has very charming art and is a turn based strategy resource management game. The story introduces a group of nomadic people who must travel to a place known as the Great Meeting before the flood known as The Sigh arrives. The whole premise of the game is to plan out your journey, gather as many resources as you can, and manage those resources during your journey. The game is set up into chapters with the goal of getting to your destination before the flood arrives. 

Chapters in the game. 

The game doesn't really give you much of a tutorial. It kind of throws you in and gives you tips on what to do in the first chapter so you can get a feel for it, but I really wish there had been a better guided how to especially for the first chapter regarding the map layouts known as halts. Each halt has a different layout and you can choose which one to travel to on the map menu. 

Exploring the halt. 

There is a bit of a timer as you gather materials and you can build temporary buildings like a quarry to gather stone for building. You can assign tasks to each person and when they finish one task you can assign them to another. Before you leave the halt, you can put things you gathered into your inventory. This gives you a little tetris like mini game to make everything fit. Once that's done, you're off to the next halt. 

Getting ready to organize inventory. 

Another aspect of the game is the people in the group can change or upgrade their job class. For example, a builder can upgrade to engineer or a trapper can upgrade to a fisher. This also means they can gather a bigger quantity of resources and they also do it at a faster pace. 

Changing job classes. 

All of those things seem nice and the art style of the game is cute and the concept is interesting. However, As Far As The Eye was a struggle to play because of so many technical issues on the Switch. The game would freeze in places or it would crash. Sometimes the inputs for the controls would not work or would delay or a chapter wouldn't load. There were so many issues like this that it felt like the game was not tested enough for consoles and felt unfinished and frankly it feels completely irresponsible to release the game in this condition. It made what could have been a good game, a frustrating mess. It should have been play tested more and it's very clear it wasn't. Until those issues are worked out and addressed, it's better to wait to play this game.

Building on the map. 

*As Far As The Eye is available on the following platforms: Nintendo Switch, PS4, Steam, Xbox One, and Mobile

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and talk about mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

 

Mothergamer Plays Kena Bridge Of Spirits

 I had never played Kena Bridge of Spirits before, but I thought it looked great and I was interested in the story. When I started the game I was drawn in immediately by how beautiful the game looks. The game does a good job of introducing Kena and showing that she is a spirit guide that helps spirits to move on. The game gives a good tutorial on how Kena moves and how to use her spirit staff for combat. Kena moves well with roll dodges and slash attacks that in many ways reminded me of Legend of Zelda. Kena soon meets little spirit companions called the Rot and they are adorable while helping Kena through her journey. 

Kena explores a forest with the Rot. 

On the way to the village, Kena meets the spirit of the former elder who tells her that she must help the trapped spirits before she is granted passage to the shrine there. The first spirits Kena helps are the spirits of two children who are twins. They're very cute and their part of the story is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. As Kena goes on, there are puzzles to solve based on the mechanics of Kena's abilities and some are simple while others are a little more complicated, but each one gives a sense of accomplishment when the puzzle is solved. 

Kena helping the children spirits. 

Combat in Kena are a great time with the fighting mechanics being well thought out. The enemies Kena fights look like they belong in that world looking like a pollution of nature with monsters that look like trees or fire bats. Each creature has a weakness and it's up to Kena and the Rot to figure it out. Kena can use the Rot to help her fight, heal, and figure out puzzles. It's a nice melding of their powers adding another great layer to the game. 

Kena takes on a monster.

As Kena levels up, she can upgrade her skills and abilities as well as unlock new ones. She can also unlock abilities and power upgrades for the Rot. This is easily done in the user interface and it's laid out very well so navigating through the menu isn't a chore. As long as Kena has enough spirit shards she can unlock those things and get stronger along with the Rot. 

Upgrading skills. 

I loved the Rot and something that included them that I thought was terribly cute was the hat stalls where Kena could buy hats for the Rot. It's as adorable as you think and there is a variety of hats for them ranging from mushroom hats to fox hats. I bought so many hats for my little spirit friend.

Buying cute hats!

There were definitely some mechanic issues with the jumping. Some of the puzzles and gameplay require some platform jumping. The big thing was the double jump. Sometimes the double jump input wouldn't always work and it would make the jumping a little sticky so I would fail jumps and have to retry a lot. This wasn't a big deal and you can adjust the settings to make the game easier. I usually set it to the easy/casual setting anyway on games to make things easier on my arthritic hands. I didn't mind trying again, but during big boss fights it can be a bit frustrating to have to try again so many times when the jump controls are sticking. 

Kena and the Rot taking a break. 

I loved Kena. The story is emotional and well told and overall the gameplay is a lot of fun. Each chapter for the different spirits sharing their stories was beautiful and deeply moving. The message of forgiveness and hope through each individual's story stuck with me and it was shown in such a gentle and thoughtful way. The entire game is beautiful and I found myself stopping and just admiring the view and appreciating all the details that went into every vista. I'm so glad I got to play Kena Bridge Of Spirits because it is a wonderful game that tells a great story. 

A beautiful view.

*Kena Bridge Of Spirits is available to play on the following platforms: Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4, and Playstation 5

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer

Mothergamer Tries Eloments Vitamin Tea

 *Note: I received the variety pack of Eloments Vitamin Tea for free for my honest review. Thank you to Eloments for the free sample!

I love a good cup of coffee, but I also love a good cup of tea. When I have trouble sleeping a nice cup of my herbal sleepy plum tea really helps. When I feel anxious a nice cup of chai tea helps. When I'm sick with a cold a cup of green tea with a bit of lemon always helps me to feel better. I was curious about Eloments tea because I had never heard of a vitamin tea before. I was able to look at their website and see what they were about. Honestly, I was quite impressed that they are very much about ethical business practices and sustainability. The different teas sounded great too. Here are some important things to know about Eloments. 

Eloments facts.

I love that the tea paper is compostable which creates less waste. I'm not vegan, but a few of my friends are and I know they would be pleased to see that Eloments tea is completely vegan. I received the Eloments variety pack with a very nice card with a handwritten note saying that they hoped I liked the tea. I thought that was very kind and it made me really excited to try out the tea. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the bag the variety pack came in is also compostable. It showed that they put a lot of thought and care into each detail. There are five different teas to choose from: Bourbon Vanilla, Egyptian Mint, Urban Defence, Summer Orange, and Citrus Boost. It was a bit of a challenge picking which one to start with first because they all looked good and all the teas have a very nice scent to them. I did choose one and we'll go over each flavor in the order I tried them. You can drink the teas by themselves or with a bit of milk and honey or milk and sugar. I like my tea with a bit of milk and sugar so that is how I tried each tea. 

Trying to choose a tea from the Eloments variety pack. 

The First tea was Bourbon Vanilla which is a chai. What's in it: a blend of black tea, cardamom, clove, and cinnamon with a shot of old fashioned creamy vanilla from Madagascar. What vitamins are in it: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and Vitamin C. 

I loved this one! Chai is my favorite tea and I love a great cup of chai so Bourbon Vanilla delivers. The flavors blend together very well and I could really taste the vanilla. I sat there savoring this cup of tea and feeling this wave of comfort and relaxation wash over me after a long day. I found myself a little sad when the cup was empty so I made myself a second cup. This tea is that good. 

Bourbon Vanilla was excellent. 

The second tea was Egyptian Mint. What's in it: Egyptian peppermint and spearmint What vitamins are in it: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and Vitamin C

Most people can tell you, I am not a fan of mint. I don't like mint flavors and I don't like mint anything. It's a taste I just don't like and I avoid it. However, I decided to keep an open mind while trying this one. The Egyptian Mint is caffeine free tisane green tea that can aid digestion. I was a little hesitant to try it, but I took a breath and took that first sip. I was stunned. I took another sip and then another. Eloments changed my mind about mint tea! This was quite good! The mint is subtle, but not overpowering. It has a nice scent to it and I found I liked the light flavor to it. Egyptian Mint showed me that mint tea can taste good and they showcased that the mint is the star without being overbearing beautifully. 

Egyptian Mint showing me I can like a mint tea. 

The third tea was Urban Defence. What's in it: Zinc, raspberry, pomegranate, blueberry, rooibos, and hints of honey.

Urban Defence is caffeine free and the zinc is for an immune boost. It has a nice and light scent to it when I steeped it. However, I was a little disappointed that it didn't taste as fruity as I expected it to. The raspberry flavor pops through a bit, but not much and I didn't really get any inkling of blueberry and pomegranate flavors. It does taste good, but I guess I expected a bit more of the fruit flavors to come shining through and that didn't happen. It's still a nice tea and I did enjoy it, but it wasn't my favorite. 

Urban Defence wasn't bad, but not my favorite. 

The fourth tea was Summer Orange. What's in it: Orange citrus, lemongrass, fennel, and high mountain green tea What vitamins are in it: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and Vitamin C

The description that this tea smells like an orange orchard in Summer is spot on. The tea itself before brewing smells lovely and definitely made me think of Summer and cheerful sunny days. Summer Orange surprised me in the best way. It has a very nice light orange fragrance and the tea itself tastes light, but with a great burst of orange flavor. I actually had this cup of tea with a bowl of Tillamook Oregon Strawberry ice cream and let me tell you, it paired perfectly with my ice cream making Summer Orange a perfect Summer treat. 

Summer Orange is the perfect Summer tea. 

The fifth tea was Citrus Boost. What's in it: Lemongrass, lemon verbena, ginger, ad sweet China green tea What Vitamins are in it: B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, B7, B9, and Vitamin C

Citrus boost has a pleasant lemon aroma and the lemon flavor is there without being too powerful. The hint of ginger is present, but lemon is the dominant flavor and it shines in the best way by creating a lovely lemon tea that is light and relaxing. It can be easy to go overboard with a citrus tea, but Citrus Boost shows that you can have a zesty lemon tea that doesn't overpower everything and tastes delicious. 

Citrus Boost has the perfect amount of lemon. 

After trying all the different teas from Eloments I can honestly say that I liked them all. I do have a few favorites of course such as Bourbon Vanilla, Egyptian Mint, and Summer Orange. However, every single tea I tried is good. It shows how much thought and care went into each tea that Eloments crafted. The fact that the tea is organic, vegan, and sustainable is a wonderful and pleasant surprise bonus. This is clearly a business that genuinely cares about making an impact, but in a way that is ethical and gives back to others. I genuinely appreciate it when there are people who want to do some good and Eloments has shown quite well that they care about each and every detail and aspect of that. I'm so glad I got to try their tea and now, I'm going to make myself a cup of tea. Thank you so much for reading and thank you to Eloments for the free variety pack to try!

If you would like to try Eloments tea for yourself you can buy it here: https://amzn.to/3tktOvZ

Want to know more about Eloments? You can check out their website here: https://eloments.com/

*Join our community on Twitch as we play games and discuss mental health: https://www.twitch.tv/mothergamer